Early chapter this week - my brother is in town until Saturday, so I don't know how much time I'll have to write. Chapter 15 is scheduled as normal for next Thursday.
Page of Cups, reversed - Emotional immaturity, insecurity, disappointment
One week later
Buggy had been having a nice day.
The day was nice, the crew was partying, and Buggy was planning to hunt down Straw Hat and teach him a lesson.
He did not like Straw Hat. The idiot had made a fool out of Buggy twice now. The fact the kid was wearing Captain's old hat didn't help. It only highlighted how similar the kid was to Roger and brought back memories of the time before everything went to shit.
Then Portgas D. Ace showed up.
If Straw Hat acted like Roger, then Ace was practically the man's clone. Every movement was a painful reminder of his old captain. There were bits of Rouge in his freckles and eye shape - but that wasn't helping.
And the brat had to be a Sea-damned Whitebeard Pirate.
Buggy nearly had a heart attack at his crew's suggestion of collecting Ace's bounty. He didn't care that it was five times higher than Straw Hat's. He liked living thank you very much! Forget about Whitebeard - if Buggy hurt Ace, Noir would kill him long before Whitebeard ever got around to doing it, oath of kinship be damned.
Of everyone still alive, Buggy knew best how dangerous Noir could be. Rouge trained both Buggy and Noir to wield daggers, giving Buggy an up close and personal look at Noir's combat abilities. On top of that, Buggy knew Rouge trained Noir in a hell of a lot of things Buggy had never been allowed to learn. Rouge may have looked and acted like a mild mannered heiress, but Buggy had never seen her lose a spar. Not even when Buggy, Noir, and Shanks teamed up and fought her at the same time. Captain never fought her, or anyone else on the crew, but Buggy had never been as confident as Shanks that Roger would have won if the two ever did fight.
Since Noir was promoted to Vice Admiral at 38 years old, Buggy would bet every last Beri to his name that Noir was every bit as skilled as Rouge.
So he wouldn't hunt down Noir and yell at her about Straw Hat's ridiculous name for him. He was not Straw Hat's uncle, and his name was not Bunny! But Straw Hat wouldn't call him anything else, and Buggy knew Noir was responsible.
Even Ace somehow found out about the blasted name, the smug brat!
Ace wasn't smirking at the moment. There was a pensive look on the brat's face that Buggy recognized. That had been a dangerous look to see on his captain's face. Roger never bothered to think too hard about things not happening in his immediate vicinity, preferring to leave that to Old Man Rayleigh. Roger wasn't the smartest blade in the armory, but the man could be surprisingly intuitive even before he started hearing the Voice of All Things.
Rouge on the other hand was as sharp as they came. You couldn't get anything past the woman. Buggy didn't know who Ace took after, but either way Buggy felt perfectly justified in the wary look he sent the brat.
"I didn't know you and Noir were siblings." Ace said. "Shanks never mentioned it." Silver eyes turned piercing, and Buggy forced himself not to look away. But damn it if Ace didn't remind him of Rouge just now.
He barked a laugh, deliberately scornful to hide how unsettled he felt. "That red haired bastard doesn't know as much about me and Noir as he thinks he does."
Buggy doubted Shanks knew half of what Rouge trained Noir to do. Or how fucked up Noir's mental state was.
Rouge hadn't exactly been a model of sanity either. People like Rouge and Noir were always a few baskets short of a picnic. Had to be, to be any good at their profession. The two women just hid it really well.
"We stuck together after my old captain died." Buggy said. No one else did. Shanks hared off and was causing a ruckus up and down the Grand Line a year later. The rest of the crew just… left. Buggy wasn't too proud to admit he still resented that. All the talk about them being nakama and they left Buggy and Shanks to fend for themselves. Sure, Shanks and Buggy knew what they wanted, had their dreams, but they'd only been fifteen.
Who the fuck listens to a fifteen year old? Fucking no one. Buggy had to lie about his age for years to get taken seriously.
Noir stayed. Hunted Buggy down a year after the execution to check that he was still kicking and refused to leave him alone. Buggy never thought Noir would honor the oath of kinship, but well, he'd forgotten how stubborn a Portgas could be.
They checked up on each other once in a while to make sure they were okay. Buggy saw Noir less than Shanks, but at least Noir wasn't trying to take Buggy's head off for stupid shit.
Then Noir got Buggy roped into the Net as a middling contact. It wasn't too bad. It helped him keep up with his kids without risking the Marines catching wind of them.
Ace mulled that over. Buggy let him think, refilling his alcohol and topping off his plate - letting his hands dance around the buffet table while he lounged in his seat. He missed swimming, but he couldn't deny his Devil Fruit came with definite perks.
"Why didn't Noir raise me?"
Oh, Buggy knew the answer to that question. "She didn't know you survived the Purges, brat. Garp told her you died with your mother." Buggy had no reservations throwing Garp under the keel there. He was pissed at Roger's old rival for keeping Noir from her own family.
Ace whipped his head around to stare at Buggy. "Shitty Gramps? What- Why would he do that?"
"He's a Marine." Buggy replied. "A Vice Admiral. It's his job to hold onto any and all resources he can, and at the time, Noir was the only Marine with Conqueror's Haki."
That was what Buggy was able to deduce at least, based on Noir's grumbles after her promotion last year and the fact Noir had been a well known Marine even as a mere captain. The Marines having someone with Conqueror's Haki caused a ruckus twenty years back. Noir's brat popping with the ability a year back gave half the underworld heart attacks.
"If Noir knew back then you survived, she would have left the Marines in a heartbeat."
He didn't believe Buggy. Somewhat insulting, this was Buggy's sister they were talking about, but from what Noir told Buggy, Ace's issues had issues. Issues didn't inspire trust.
Ace crossed his arms, and that was the Portgas stubbornness glinting in his eyes. Lovely. Getting Noir to accept something she didn't want to hear was a pain in the ass. Buggy had the sinking feeling Ace would be worse. "Why didn't Noir tell me she was my aunt when we first met? Shanks was the one to tell me."
Oh for fuck's sake, Noir.
Buggy pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't a therapist dammit! "You remind her of Rouge." He said, trying to think past the sheer exasperation caused by these two. The idiots needed to talk, damn it all. "They were close."
Ace's expression was every inch skepticism. So Buggy shoved a photo in his face.
Buggy didn't have to look to know which photo it was. Ace was frozen, staring at the two women - one blonde, the other with a touch of red - smirking at the camera and looking so similar they couldn't be anything but sisters.
"This is my mom?" Ace asked quietly.
"And your pain in the ass aunt." Buggy said. He studiously ignored how Ace's gaze remained riveted to the photo, as though he'd never seen anything like it before.
Wait. He probably hadn't. What were the chances Garp had any photos of Rouge, much less gave them to Ace?
From Ace's expression, Buggy was going to guess it was a solid fucking zero.
Fuck it, he was such a bleeding heart.
He pushed the photo back at Ace when the brat tried to return it. "Keep it, brat. I've got plenty." He lied. Buggy only had a couple. But he could give up one for his captain's son. Brat had better take care of it though.
Enough mushy crap. "What's a Whitebeard doing in this stretch of Paradise?" The Net kept track of the general location of each Yonko, and Whitebeard's last known location was nowhere near here. Unless the old codger found a way to travel like the red haired bastard, Whitebeard still wasn't anywhere close.
For a moment, Ace scrutinized him, trying to determine if Buggy had any ulterior motive behind the question. Which, there wasn't. Not really. Sure, Noir would like to know what trouble her nephew was getting into. But it was rare to see a lone Whitebeard Pirate, much less a lone Commander.
Buggy was curious. Sue him.
Finally, Ace dropped the suspicious look. "Ah, I'm looking for someone. I was told Jumishat could help me."
What.
Coughing, Buggy tried to mop up most of the alcohol he spilled. He knew that name. That was the codename for one of the Net managers. How the hell did Ace get the contact information for a Rank 7?!
"Who gave you that name?!" He demanded. "Jumishat doesn't talk to just anyone." Anyone looking for high level agents of the Net without advance notice from another agent never found who they were looking for. The rest of the Net would have them running in circles until they gave up or encountered a more lethal discouragement.
The folded paper Ace dug out of his pocket was well worn. The pink seal was broken, and the creases in the paper were close to tearing. Regardless, it was an authentic letter of introduction from an agent 'Klaris' of the Net.
Buggy was not pleased.
Klaris was a Rank 2. They had no business telling anyone outside the Net of their existence without permission from the higher ranks.
He handed the letter back. "Klaris shouldn't have done that." He said to Ace's wary look. The Net had to be downright paranoid with who they trusted. They were protecting innocent families. Innocent kids. None of them wanted a second Purge - a second Baterilla.
With an explosive sigh, Buggy let it go. He couldn't change what Klaris had done, and Ace was obviously approved for making use of the Net's gathered information. He'd be dead by now if he wasn't, no matter what kind of retribution Noir or Whitebeard would deal out in return.
Still, he'd make sure to drop a quick report about this. Someone clearly needed a reminder of Net protocols before they received a visit from someone like Noir.
Same deal as always, amici - the more reviews, the sooner the next chapter comes out. Let me know your favorite part of the chapter! I'm always curious what you all like the most about my writing.
Please review!
